Trump and DOGE might terminate a project in JD Vance’s hometown that would have created over 1200 jobs

A $500 million grant set aside for Cleveland-Cliffs in Middletown, Ohio, might be canceled under the Trump administration and The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). This funding was meant to help the steel company upgrade its old blast furnaces with cleaner technology, which would have created more than 100 permanent jobs and 1,200 temporary construction jobs in Vice President JD Vance’s hometown.

The grant was part of a larger $6.3 billion program started by the Biden administration to improve American manufacturing, per CNN. The planned upgrades would have shifted the furnaces from coal to hydrogen, natural gas, and electricity, making the plant more environmentally friendly and running longer.

However, internal documents suggest the Trump administration is planning to cut this funding. DOGE has been leading the effort to find programs to eliminate. The Energy Department says no final decisions have been made and that different options are being reviewed. Still, the department has already paused billions of dollars in Biden-era grants for months while evaluating them. Internal records indicate the $6.3 billion program could lose two-thirds of its funding.

Trump administration may cut project in Vice President’s home town

The possible cancellation of the Cleveland-Cliffs grant has worried people involved in the project. One source called the move senseless, especially since the company employs many people in the Vice President’s hometown and has backed Trump’s trade policies. Another compared the decision-making to random choices made by people who don’t know what they’re doing.

Shawn Coffey, the leader of the union representing over 2,000 workers at Cleveland-Cliffs in Middletown, stressed how important the grant is. He said the upgrades would keep the mill open longer and reduce its environmental impact, which matters for the community’s future. If the funding is cut, the company will have to decide whether to pay for the project itself. Coffey said there would be 170 fewer jobs without the grant in the next five years.

The Trump administration’s freeze on Biden-era grants has also disrupted early planning for many other projects. A former worker from the Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations said many projects that got initial funding for planning suddenly had their money cut off. Energy Department staff were reportedly told not to talk to companies about whether their grants would continue.

The Cleveland-Cliffs project fit with the Biden administration’s goals of cutting industrial pollution, but it also helped modernize a major U.S. industry, making it more competitive. Former Biden officials argue that the Trump administration’s plan to slash programs goes against its own promises to boost manufacturing and bring jobs back to America. They say the U.S. needs smart public investments, not cuts, to stay competitive.